Inspection of underwater objects, such as ship hulls, has long been conducted by teams of divers. For large ships, such as container vessels, several man hours are required to complete an inspection. Such an inspection technique is not only cumbersome, time-consuming, and expensive, but also puts the divers conducting the inspection in harm's way.
Marine mammals, such as dolphins, have also been used to conduct inspections of underwater objects. However, the use of such mammals suffers from drawbacks similar to those of divers in terms of time consumption, expense, and exposure to potential dangers.
Unmanned underwater vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles and remotely operated vehicles have been developed which are capable of mapping and inspecting sections of the seafloor and harbors. Such devices are commonly referred to collectively as UUVs.
UUVs are currently incapable of inspecting objects, such as a ship hull of a floating ship or a submerged object from a close constant stand-off distance. While it is important that a UUV come close to an object to properly inspect it, it is also important that the distance not be too close because of the need to protect the inspection sensors onboard the UUV and the required clearance for the UUV antenna and control surfaces of the UUV. Inspection at too close of a distance may cause such sensitive components to contact the object of interest, causing damage to the components.
There is thus a need for a way to conduct an inspection of an underwater object that overcomes the shortcomings noted above.